St. John the Evangelist Baptism

St. John the Evangelist Baptism

Our earliest vital records are not something we usually remember and we only discover the originals if our parents kept them for us. Genealogists locate and pay for having copies of original records as they are the best proof.

As Uncle Jack came to America when he was a teenager, I am sure he did not think he would need his baptismal record. 

John Crompton was always called Jack by his wife and friends. I easily found his baptismal index (this is not a record but an index to the church records) I checked every database I subscribe to and only found the index at FamilySearch and at Ancestry. I was hoping to find the actual record at Find MY Past but it does not seem to be there. I will continue to look. I almost forgot that uncle Jack's name was John even though his name is written there in my tree. 

"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N1SM-QF2 : 6 December 2014), John Crompton, 23 Jul 1902; citing Deane, Lancashire, England, reference item 4 p 62; FHL microfilm 1,538,439.

Ancestry Index

As you can see Jack was baptized on 23 July 1902 when he was 15 days old. The Anglican or Episcopal Church practices infant baptism. St. John the Evangelist  is a "Church of England" church which is near Kearsley. The church records do hint that there would be more information on the actual certificate.  Since this transcription gives us the name of the location of where they lived, the father's occupation and the name of who baptized him (who was not the vicar: 1900-1912 Robert Whittaker Gordon)

It is important to read the history of an area while looking for records. History